Question 61·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Citizen science—projects in which members of the public collect and share data—has accelerated ecological research by dramatically expanding the reach of professional scientists. In a study of monarch butterfly migration, for instance, researchers received thousands of observations from volunteers across North America. This influx of data enabled the team to map the butterflies’ routes with far greater precision than would have been possible working alone.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
For SAT “function of a sentence” questions, first summarize the main point of the passage or paragraph in your own words, then paraphrase the target sentence by itself. Next, describe the relationship between the two: is the sentence giving an example, adding detail, contrasting, explaining a reason, or changing the topic? Finally, choose the answer that matches your description of that relationship, and eliminate options that mention a tone (like “contradicts” or “challenges”) or purpose (“new topic,” “problem”) that clearly doesn’t fit what the sentence is actually doing.
Hints
Review the main idea before the underlined sentence
Reread the first sentence and put it in your own words. What is the passage claiming about citizen science and ecological research?
Paraphrase the underlined sentence
Ignore the answer choices for a moment. Restate the underlined sentence in simple language: what did the extra data from volunteers allow the scientists to do?
Connect the two sentences
Think about how the second sentence relates to the first. Is it giving an example, presenting a problem, disagreeing, or changing the subject?
Eliminate clearly wrong roles
Ask yourself: Does the underlined sentence sound negative or conflicting with the first? Does it shift to a different topic, or stay on monarch research and citizen science? Use this to cross out mismatched choices.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the main claim of the passage
Look at the first sentence: it says that citizen science (public volunteers collecting and sharing data) has accelerated ecological research by expanding the reach of professional scientists. This is the central claim the rest of the text will likely illustrate or support.
Understand what the underlined sentence is saying
The underlined sentence explains that, because of a large amount of data from volunteers, researchers could map monarch butterfly migration routes with far greater precision than if they had worked alone. In other words, the volunteers’ data made the scientists’ work more effective.
Decide how this sentence functions in the text
Ask yourself: Is this sentence presenting a problem, a contrast, a new topic, or an example? It clearly describes a specific result from getting thousands of volunteer observations, which matches the earlier general claim that citizen science improves research. So its role is to support that claim with a concrete example.
Match your description to the answer choice
The answer choice that best matches “supporting the earlier claim with a specific example/result” is B) It provides evidence supporting the claim that citizen science can enhance ecological research. The other options describe functions (logistical challenges, contradiction, new topic) that do not match what the underlined sentence is actually doing.